Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.
William Morris

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Christmas Books

Can one have too many books? I think not.....although I am trying to restrain myself as my shelves are bulging. I have an affinity for Christmas books, old and new.....quilt related books, civil war history, anything Susan Branch, just to name a few. Susan recently wrote about some of the Christmas books she has collected over the years. http://www.susanbranch.com/archives/2602

And I thought what a lovely collection to share this time of year.

What fun to be reading someone else's blog and find you have some of the same things, I noticed right away that Susan also had The Fireside Book of Christmas Stories. Mine came from my Grandma K.'s bookshelf...she gave it to me years ago.

Here is a collection of old and new titles that have come to live with me....some you might want to try to find for yourselves....how about The Christmas Stove, Lucy's Christmas and Alexander's Christmas Eve....especially for someone named Lucy or Alex. :)

Here are some more of the titles for you to peruse....of special note is the one with part of the binding missing. That is a vintage Hallmark pop-up book of The Night Before Christmas. We read that to our girls every Christmas Eve before they went to bed.....so it is well loved and worn.

The Jolly Christmas Postman is a very cute book full of envelopes and letters to tell the story....very fun.

I have a fairly complete collection of Joan Walsh Anglund books. Her illustrations are just darling and would be a fun collection to look for. I read this often to my girls when they were small.

Christmas Is Love is another title of Joan Walsh Anglund......one of her small books with a fun photo of my 3 oldest grandchildren back when we only had 3.....so that has been quite a few years ago. We took them out that night to look at lights and go see Santa. It seems a lifetime ago as the oldest in this pic is 15. :0

Eloise Wilkin is another illustrator who just communicates sweetness. As this book has been loved on by my girls as well as their own children. I think I have read this book to all 15 of them. Miss Kate Anne has pulled this off the shelf every week this month. This would be another great collection to start for yourself or someone you love.

Under my tree I have it full of vintage toys, books, several nativity sets, Christmas catalogs, games and the like. Here is a page from a vintage pop up book.

A wooden sleigh full of small vintage Christmas books a midst a few New Year's noise makers and other pieces of eye candy.

Now for a couple of adult selections....this is a collection of short stories from Bess Streeter Aldrich. She has her roots in Cedar Falls, Iowa and Nebraska, where she wrote many of her works. Her books are a wonderful slice of a time gone by.

A Song of Years and A Lantern In Her Hand are my favorite of her books. They are mainly about her grandparents who settled, lived and are buried in Cedar Falls in the 1800's. You would cherish these books if you enjoy period historical fiction. http://www.bessstreeteraldrich.org/bio.html

And for the quilt lover's and even if you are not, what is not to like about Jennifer Chiaverini and her series based on Elm Creek Quilters. A delightful set of books revolving around a quilt retreat estate in Pennsylvania and the women that are connected to it, both past and present. These books are readily available and would be a welcome addition to your own bulging book shelves. :)

2 comments:

Sherri -- thanks for the link from Small quilts chat. I love all of your Christmas books. I don't think I have all that many hanging around my house. But it brings to mind my favorite The Byrd's Christmas or some such title. If I remember correctly it is quite the tear jerker. I'll have to find it and read it again.

Also love the wide selection of children's books. Snowmen at Christmas, the Anglund books and Grinch. There are so many wonderful Christmas books! Thanks for sharing!

About Me

I am a country girl, living a simple & ordinary life. I would like to share my creative expressions and lifestyle with kindred spirits. I love all things vintage.... fabric, needlework, fibers, scrapbooking & memory keeping, and genealogy too. I am married to my best friend, the "silver fox" and have been blessed to raise 4 daughters who have given me 15 grands.....my treasures!!!